Lionel Hollins came out firing in the first half but was injured in the in the second half and had to leave. Philadelphia had a 39-30 lead in the second quarter when reserve forward Mark Landsberger came up with two offensive rebound buckets in a row for L.A. to stem the tide. Darryl Dawkins was saddled with three quick fouls which limited his playing time. With the game tied at the start of the second half, L.A. scored the first 12 points of the third quarter to take a 65-53 lead with 7:39 left in the quarter. The 76ers were just unable to make anything in the third as they shot 3-20 from the field. What's more, two of the three made hoops were layups as Philadelphia made 1-18 from out on the floor. Dawkins picked up his fourth foul early in the third on an offensive foul as he went for a dunk. Magic Johnson pulled down nine rebounds in the third quarter to help key the Laker break. Jamaal Wilkes and Michael Cooper held Julius Erving to only one free throw in the decisive third period. After L.A. achieved their largest lead at 78-62, Philadelphia began to comeback behind Erving who scored 11 points in the fourth period. The 76ers clawed within 92-88 with 6:01 left in the game after a 10-0 spurt. Norm Nixon then hit Landsberger on a backdoor play to make it a 94-88. Philadelphia would not get any closer the rest of the way.

Maurice Cheeks helped Philadelphia to an early double digit lead by hitting his first eight shots. 76ers coach Billy Cunningham switched Caldwell Jones on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and put Darryl Dawkins on Jim Chones. The move paid off when Dawkins had a big game to help Philadelphia inside. The 76ers led by as many as 20 points in the second quarter and by 18 at the half. L.A. was not able to close the gap in the third quarter. They finally started to make a move in the fourth. The Lakers cut the lead to 99-98 as they outscored the Sixers 27-10. They could not catch them though. Philadelphia led 105-104 with 30 seconds left and a 12-foot jumper by Bobby Jones with one second on the shot clock that made it 107-104 with seven seconds left. Norm Nixon missed a tying three-pointer and 76ers went home with a split. Lakers coach Paul Westhead suspended Spencer Haywood after this game for conduct detrimental to the team.

Lionel Hollins got hot early but had to be taken out when he could not stop Magic Johnson on the other end. By the time Hollins returned to the game, he had gone ice cold. Los Angeles raced to a 35-18 lead early in the second quarter but Philadelphia closed it to 44-40 with 4:20 left in the half. The Lakers would close the half with a 13-4 run to re-establish their lead. Los Angeles would outrebound Philly 22-13 on the offensive glass. Norm Nixon had 15 points in the first half and Paul Westhead switched Jim Chones from Caldwell Jones to Darryl Dawkins to protect Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from foul trouble. The Lakers lead by as many as 19 points in the third quarter. The 76ers would make a little noise in the fourth but they were too far behind as L.A. broke a nine-game losing streak at the Spectrum.

The 76ers tied the series at two games apiece. Caldwell Jones and Darryl Dawkins combined to keep Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in check. Jabbar would score his points but had a sub-par shooting game. Los Angeles was hurt by big first half foul trouble. Jim Chones and Michael Cooper each had four while Abdul-Jabbar had three. The Lakers were forced to go to its bench and it would hurt them this time as Mark Landsberger missed seven straight shots in the second half. Darryl Dawkins had a big game despite showing up at the Spectrum only 30 minutes before game. Dawkins may have set a record by dressing and getting taped in seven minutes. Los Angeles was leading 67-61 in third when Dawkins sparked a 10-0 run with eight points and a block on Abdul-Jabbar. Julius Erving made five of six shots in the second half after making only four of 11 in the first half. The 76ers had another 10 point run sparked by a spectacular play by Dr. J. In the now famous play, Erving went baseline and ran into three Lakers. Dr J. floated under the backboard and spun in a reverse layup as he emerged on the other side. Los Angeles would get the ball down by three with a chance to tie it on three. However, Magic's in-bounds pass was stolen by Bobby Jones to save the game for Philadelphia.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored L.A.'s first 12 points to keep them in step with Philadelphia. The Lakers would again have a big third quarter at the Forum as they moved out to the lead. Abdul-Jabbar would have 26 points in the first 2½ quarters. Kareem would leave the game with a sprained ankle suffered on a finger roll that gave the Lakers a 67-65 lead. With Abdul-Jabbar out at the 3:58 mark of the third quarter, L.A. would outscore the 76ers 14-8 the rest of the period. Abdul-Jabbar would return on his injured ankle and lead L.A. to a 12-point lead. The Sixers would erase that lead behind the play of Dr. J. Erving would score 16 points in the fourth quarter to combat Kareem's 14. In fact, the Doctor would score 15 of Philadelphia's last 19 points. Erving tied the game at 103 on a hoop with 43 seconds left. The Lakers answered when Abdul-Jabbar dunked the ball and drew the foul. He converted the free throw opportunity to give L.A. a 106-103 lead with 33 seconds left. Henry Bibby stepped out of bounds while setting up for a three-point attempt and Philly was forced to foul. Norm Nixon knocked down two free throws to make it 108-103 with eight seconds
left.

With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar not making the trip back to Philadelphia to rest his injured ankle and Norm Nixon playing with a sore thumb on his shooting hand, many thought this would be an easy win for the Sixers. Paul Westhead started rookie Magic Johnson at center and moved Michael Cooper into the starting lineup at guard. Magic would score 22 points in the first half and Jamaal Wilkes would live up to his nickname of "Money" by scoring 25 points in the second half. It would be a fast-paced game that seesawed back and forth in the first half after L.A. started the game with a 7-0 run. After being tied at the half, L.A. opened the third with a 14-0 run to give them a 74-60 lead. Wilkes would have 16 points in the third period alone. Despite its undersized lineup, L.A. pounded Philadelphia on the boards. Philadelphia would cut the Laker lead to two points on three occasions in the fourth quarter. The last time would be at 103-101, but Los Angeles would close the game with a 20-6 run as their fastbreak had worn down the Sixers.